I tend to agree with everything Tim had to say. Below is only a little bit of his entire article on TSN.ca.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Chisholm

I stand by that assessment, and I will amend it to say that I also believe that he deserves a chance to dig himself out of the hole that he has placed himself in this season.

Because make no mistake, this is Sam Mitchell's hole.

When a team faces-off against the Golden State Warriors and looks shocked to see a running-gunning-cutting-passing team, that falls on the preparation of the coach. When the same looks of shock-and-awe meet a similar team two nights later, that falls on the adjustments made by the coach. When a team loses one player, as good as he is, and completely falls apart on both ends of the floor, that falls on the system the coach has implemented.

Mitchell can (and does) blame the players all he wants, but his Raptors have become a purely reactive team because he coaches them that way. This is not a team that walks into a game knowing who they are and how they're going to beat their opponent, they're a team that looks to interrupt what their opponent does and hope that they fall apart like the Raptors do in similar circumstances. They never impose their will on their opponents, but rather try and counter every move their opponent makes against them, tacitly admitting that they can't conceive of a plan to beat them in advance and giving all the psychological power that implies to the opponent.

Right now, the Raptors are in dire need of support. They need a far better offensive system. They need a completely new defensive system. They need an infusion of players who can perform the tasks (defense and rebounding) that this current crop cannot. It's support that must ultimately come from Colangelo, either by endorsing the system he has now, or by supplying the aid the team needs this summer.